Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 95.djvu/606

 95 STAT. 580

PUBLIC LAW 97-35—AUG. 13, 1981 dren, and should emphasize the provision of support by other family members, religious and charitable organizations, voluntary associations, and other groups in the private sector in order to help adolescents and their families deal with complex issues of adolescent premarital sexual relations and the consequences of such relations; and "(11)(A) there has been limited research concerning the societal causes and consequences of adolescent pregnancy; "(B) there is limited knowledge concerning which means of intervention are effective in mediating or eliminating adolescent premarital sexual relations and adolescent pregnancy; and "(C) it is necessary to expand and strengthen such knowledge in order to develop an array of approaches to solving the problems of adolescent premarital sexual relations and adolescent pregnancy in both urban and rural settings. "(b) Therefore, the purposes of this title are— "(1) to find effective means, within the context of the family, of reaching adolescents before they become sexually active in order to maximize the guidance and support available to adolescents from parents and other family members, and to promote self discipline and other prudent approaches to the problem of adolescent premarital sexual relations, including adolescent pregnancy; "(2) to promote adoption as an alternative for adolescent parents; "(3) to establish innovative, comprehensive, and integrated approaches to the delivery of care services for pregnant adolescents, with primary emphasis on unmarried adolescents who are seventeen years of age or under, and for adolescent parents, which shall be based upon an assessment of existing programs and, where appropriate, upon efforts to establish better coordination, integration, and linkages among such existing programs in order to— "(A) enable pregnant adolescents to obtain proper care and assist pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents to become productive independent contributors to family and community life; and "(B) assist families of adolescents to understand and resolve the societal causes which are associated with adolescent pregnancy; "(4) to encourage and support research projects and demonstration projects concerning the societal causes and consequences of adolescent premarital sexual relations, contraceptive use, pregnancy, and child rearing; "(5) to support evaluative research to identify effective services which alleviate, eliminate, or resolve any negative consequences of adolescent premarital sexual relations and adolescent childbearing for the parents, the child, and their families; and "(6) to encourage and provide for the dissemination of results, findings, and information from programs and research projects relating to adolescent premarital sexual relations, pregnancy, and parenthood. "DEFINITIONS

42 USC 300Z-1.

"SEC. 2002. (a) For the purposes of this title, the term— "(1) 'Secretary' means the Secretary of Health and Human Services; "(2) 'eligible person' means—

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